Too Short
by Tye Smith
Summary: Levi was not short. He was the healthy height and weight for an average seven year old. But there was one little thing- Levi was not seven. Levi was thirteen. Hints of Ereri, with 6 year old!Eren. Rated M for profanity.
1. Final Destination

**Hey!**

**First Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin fanfiction here!**

**In Levi's point of view.**

**I hope you enjoy! :3**

Levi was not short. He was the healthy height and weight for an average seven year old. But there was one little thing- Levi was not seven. Levi was thirteen.

He'd been short since... forever. Those stupid tall people literally looked down at him; indirectly call him short; judging him by how tall he was. It wasn't that Levi was... vertically challenged. Everybody else was just way too fucking tall. There was nothing wrong being around 4.88845 feet tall. That is almost five feet! A big number. Levi would reach it one day.

Despite his best intentions to suddenly get a huge growth spurt and grow way taller than everybody else, poor Levi was destined to be short forever.

Levi was still thirteen now- and he had yet to grow any more. Last year, Hanji, his female-friend-who-is-way-taller-than-him-but-somehow-younger-than-him had congratulated him, exclaiming, 'Oh, Levi! Congrats, you've grown another 0.009 inches in the past year!' Levi glared, flipped her off, and walked away. Fuck her. Fuck them.

Stupid tall people.

But even now, Levi doubted he'd grown even _that _much this past year. 0.009 seemed like a very intimidating number to him now, because it was so hard to grow that much. (Even though everybody else made it seem so easy- stupid tall people).

Levi has to get his shit together, and fast. Because he was wallowing in self-pity when he was alone, and trying desperately to find ways to grow taller. Friends didn't help. Friends just laughed. Especially a certain friend named Hanji. Erwin seemed more understanding of his predicament, but apparently he just had a stoic exterior look about him. Well, fuck him. He doesn't understand. Erwin was already a foot taller than Levi. He was only fourteen; only a year older than Levi. Fuck him.

Fuck all of them.

Stupid tall people.

* * *

><p>Levi checked the time absentmindedly. Seventh grade, last period – science. His teacher (who of course he wasn't paying any attention to) was droning on and on about different types of diffusion. Levi couldn't care less, and he fiddled, bored, with his black mechanical pencil he held in his hand.<p>

The dismissal bell rang, and the students closed their binders and hurried out, clustering at the door. Levi stood slowly, one of the last students to trickle out. It was always like this. Levi could not bring himself to care about getting out of school. There was nothing he needed to do. All you did at home was work on the homework the teachers assigned anyways, so why not be in school until they finished the damn homework? School was for learning, and home was for relaxing, sleeping, and eating. Home was not meant for work or socializing. Ridiculous.

The black haired thirteen year old slowly finished getting his things and exited the door, in his signature I-don't-give-a-shit sauntering walk. He wandered over to his locker, a bored expression plastered over his features.

"I heard that big rollercoaster is coming to town in the fair this weekend,"

He overheard someone say. Oh, right. Levi had forgotten all about it. There _was_ a fair this weekend, and from the reviews, apparently it was one of those 'awesome' fairs in which it was filled with everything from Merry-Go-Rounds to huge, abnormally large roller coasters.

"Which one?"

He heard another in the group say.

"You, know, the awesome one! It's called 'Final Destination' or something, I think."

Final Destination? What a stupid name. It sounded like something from an 80's movie. Maybe it was supposed to have a crappy title. Levi couldn't care less. There was absolutely no way he'd be going out to a fair, anyways.

People were there, and people were dirty. It was also disgusting and unsanitary to be sitting in the seats many other people had sat in before him. Levi finished packing his bags and left without another glance at the group talking about the famed roller coaster.

There was no way he'd be going to that fair, anyways.

* * *

><p>"Oh, come on, Levi! Please! I won't let anyone or anything gross touch you. You can even wear your Latex gloves or something! Pleeeaaase?"<p>

Hanji's whiny voice carried over the TV's sound. It was Saturday morning, exactly 8:43 am, and Levi's parents were at work. Today and tomorrow were the days of the fair. He sighed, turning off the TV with a click of the remote.

"For the last time, Hanji. I'm not going to the stupid fair. What's the cost of the fucking thing anyways? 20 bucks? My parents won't pay for a social event, and I'm not paying a damn fare for a damn fair."

Levi leaned back on the couch, satisfied with his slightly stupid play on words. Hanji sat beside him, her frown of dissatisfaction evident on her face.

"I'll pay for you, if you want."

"I'm not taking any money from you."

"And _I'm_ not going to take no for an answer. You know that."

Hanji retorted, voice low. Levi sighed. That much he _did _know. Hanji never took no for an answer. He let a few seconds of silence fall in between them before replying.

"Fuck you and your damn fair."

He snorted.

"Does that mean you'll come?!"

Levi only stood and got his black pea coat from the closet.

* * *

><p>The fair was beyond crowded. Levi hated it more than he hated a blotch of dirt on a white carpet. At least the dirt could be methodically washed out. The washing part could even be considered fun. This though? This whole carnival, or fair, or whatever the hell it was supposed to be called, was a train wreck of uncoordinated yells, whoops and screams from the people on rides, and the wailing cries of lost five year old children.<p>

And to make matters worse, the fair had opened at 9:00 am, and Levi and Hanji had arrived five minutes after. It was already this crowded with people, and it was sickening and disgustingly unsanitary. People spat on the sidewalks, put gum under the seat cushions of rides, and dropped their food (without picking it up!). Levi was having a bad time already, though Hanji was definitely enjoying herself immensely. Erwin had joined them a few minutes ago, and he seemed to be having enough fun.

"Oh, come on Levi. At least you can _pretend _you're having fun."

Hanji groaned into her candy apple, which she offered to Levi after taking a few bites. (She was delighted at the look of sheer disgust he gave her.)

"Oh, look at me. I'm having so much fun in this dirty-ass carnival."

Levi said sarcastically, crossing his arms and glaring forcefully at Hanji. She didn't even flinch.

"I'm sure you'd have fun if you tried."

Levi didn't grace her retort with an answer.

After around three hours, Hanji, Erwin, and Levi stopped for a lunch break. Levi was so short the perky looking woman standing behind the hot dog stand didn't see him. Hanji laughed so much at that, she was doubling over and clutching at her stomach. It hadn't been _that_ funny. In fact, Levi didn't even understand why it was funny at all. Nevertheless, Levi had socked her in the arm.

"Would've hit you in the head, but you can't afford to lose any more brain cells."

Hanji giggled, and Erwin laughed. Levi only scowled at the two of them. Fuck them both. Fuck everyone taller them him.

Stupid tall people.

* * *

><p>"I'm going to the bathroom."<p>

Erwin declared, standing up. Levi, though he did sort of need to go, refused to go in those hellholes they called porta-potties.

"Yeah, and I'm going to go get some cotton candy!"

Hanji exclaimed loudly, so loudly people glanced curiously in their direction before turning away.

"Hanji, that's fine and all, but you don't have to go screaming it to the world."

Levi muttered dryly. Hanji grinned and departed to get her cotton candy, and Erwin left in the direction of the hellholes, leaving Levi sitting alone on the curb.

The thirteen year old stood, heaving a giant sigh. This was annoying. He felt like he was babysitting. He hadn't gone on any rides, and he still had a handful of tickets. He may as well use them. Not bothering to call or text either Erwin or Hanji, Levi decided to go find a suitable ride on his own.

It was harder than he'd expected- a lot of the rides were stupid childish rides like the 'Spinning Teacups' ride and the Merry-Go-Round.

_"You, know, the awesome one! It's called 'Final Destination' or something, I think."_

Final Destination, huh? Levi decided he would give it a try. Though he doubted anything could break his calm façade.

* * *

><p>Levi finally found the ride, ignoring the many texts from Hanji and the one text from Erwin asking where he was on the way to the ride. Those two could fend for themselves in one damn carnival.<p>

Levi weaved through the crowd, wincing whenever somebody brushed too hard against him. This was so... not clean. The opposite of how things should be, which was free from dirt or stains, with surfaces shining and everything orderly and organized. That was Levi's much desired heaven.

But, nothing in this carnival was clean.

"Move."

He continued to order, glaring at the people blocking his path. Awkward shuffling, then more awkward shuffling, then some frowns on his rude behavior, then even more awkward shuffling. Then, there was finally a little path paved for Levi. And Levi walked through the gaps in the people without a second thought.

The line for 'Final Destination' stretched for what seemed like forever. It must be a very good ride, to have this many people wanting to go on it. He sighed, taking his place at the very end of the line. This was going to be a long and boring wait.

_Brrrt. Brrrt._

Levi's phone vibrated in his pocket. He fished it out, looking at it.

** Hanji: **Where the hell are you, Levi? I've been looking everywhere for you!

Levi sighed, shuffling forward as the line moved.

**Levi: **Well obviously not everywhere because you haven't found me.

The little speech bubble popped up to indicate that she was typing, then disappeared. Levi frowned, shrugged, and put his phone away into his pocket.

* * *

><p><strong> Erwin: <strong>Levi, are you still even at the fair? Hanji's been worrying about you.

**Levi: **I'm alright, okay? She's not my babysitter, I can take care of myself.

Two hours had passed since he'd gotten into the line, and he was almost there. Around ten minutes away, or so. He was almost tempted to push himself forward in front of everyone else. Waiting was annoying as hell, and he wasn't the most patient person. He wanted to go on the damn ride, and he wanted to go on it now. He wasn't going to waste all of his tickets (which he'd payed 40 dollars for) on some crappy ride. Levi almost did push himself past everyone else in front of him, but steeled himself. _Patience, Levi. Without patience, you'll never get anywhere. _He told himself.

_Brrrt. Brrrt._

**Erwin: **You could at least answer my question.

Levi sighed as he read the message. He was bored as fuck, but he was also a greedy person. If he told Erwin and Hanji where he was at the moment, they would come immediately, and, one, take away the other ten minutes of his very much needed alone time, and two, they would join him in line, and the two of them would only have to wait ten minutes instead of the two hours that Levi had been waiting for, which was unfair. It was selfish, but Levi didn't want to share this with them.

10 minutes came and passed, and Levi was soon at the front of the line.

He was a good deal shorter than the woman taking the tickets, and he offered her seven of them, because seven tickets was the 'cost' of the ride. It was one of the more exciting rides, so it cost more tickets.

The woman looked down at him for a moment before smiling.

"Are you lost, dear?"

The words pierced through Levi like a knife.

"What...?"

Levi responded, confused, but the woman didn't hear.

"Where are your parents, sweetie? Do you need someone to help you find them?"

_Sweetie?! _

The woman bent down – _fucking bent __down, _and put her hand on his shoulder, eyes full of understanding.

"You're lost, aren't you? How old are you?"

Levi could've killed somebody.

"How fucking old do you think I am, bitch?"

The woman reared back as if she'd been slapped. Yeah, sure, Levi looked really young for his age. He had the build of a seven year old, so obviously, sometimes (though rarely) people mistook him for a seven or eight year old.

But _this?! _

_This _was going _way _overboard. Levi was beyond irritated. The woman tried to get back on her feet. (figuratively, of course.)

"Um... I'm not sure if you're tall enough to-"

Levi just stared at her coldly. It wasn't her fault that he wasn't tall enough to ride the fucking ride. He was angry that someone could think he was so young that he wasn't independent. He was a fucking teenager. He was turning 14 in... two months!

Levi glared at the woman, who bit her lip, flustered.

_All you tall people can go to hell._


	2. Hot Chocolate and Library Books

Hanji had been bugging him for the past hour or so.

"Why won't you come with me to the fair? Yesterday you did, and we barely spent any time together!"

Levi glared at her, gray eyes boring into her skull.

"Shut the fuck up, shitty glasses. Who the hell would want to spend any time with you? I wouldn't."

The thirteen year old boy responded grumpily, referring to the huge glasses Hanji wore all of the time. He was absolutely _not _going to be persuaded to go to the fair once more, with what had occurred the day before.

"Did something happen?"

Hanji asked suspiciously, eyebrows rising. God, he couldn't hide anything from her. But he only grunted.

"I have better things to do, like homework. There's no time for some shitty fair."

"But we didn't get _that _much homework, I'm sure you could finish it. You're really smart, so..."

Levi's eyes narrowed marginally, and he full out scowled at the whining female before him.

"Compliments won't get you anywhere with me, Hanji. You should know that. I'm not going. Here, you can even have all fifty tickets that I didn't use. Now get out."

He rummaged into his desk drawer and pulled out the bag of tickets. Hanji sighed, defeated. He seemed really serious and really grumpy, so she made her way reluctantly towards the door.

"Well if you just so happen to change your mind-"

"I won't."

The door shut quietly behind her retreating form.

* * *

><p>Levi sighed, leaning back into his chair, exhausted. He wouldn't go back to the fair. There would most likely be a repeat of what happened the day before, and Levi most definitely couldn't handle that. He didn't want to snap.<p>

The boy grumbled to himself inaudibly. His parents were going out someplace today, leaving the thirteen year old alone in the house. As long as Levi was back in the apartment by 6 pm, he could go anywhere he pleased. Dragging his feet into the kitchen, Levi squatted down so that he could open the cupboard beneath the sink where they kept the cups. His whole family was a collection of short people (In both size and temper), and they kept all of the essentials in the places beneath the sink and areas around there so they could reach them easily.

Levi chose a black mug with a band of white near the base and near the top edge of it, placing it gently on the table. Rummaging in the cabinets, he finally found what he was looking for- a box of little paper bags filled with the powder base for hot chocolate. Levi had never actually had a sweet tooth, but he was really feeling it today, for some unexplained reason. He cut the paper bag open in one, neat cut with the black scissors that were far too large for his small hands, and careful not the make a mess, slowly tipped the powdery, brown, chocolate-smelling contents of the white paper bag into the black mug. Though there were instructions printed on the paper of the bag, Levi disregarded them entirely. He would do things his own way. Pouring cold milk into the mug, Levi pondered what he was really doing with his life. He had little to no social life, and he cleaned for fun. There were only two friends he trusted fully. There was always Petra, he supposed, who seemed to admire him greatly (though he couldn't see why), Gunther, Auruo, and Erd, but they all transferred schools after elementary.

Now, he only had Hanji (who was in his grade), and Erwin (he was in eighth grade). Levi absentmindedly mixed the soon-to-be hot chocolate with a spoon, then put the mixture in the microwave to heat.

After a minute or so, he took the hot drink out of the microwave and set it on the counter, sitting in one of the chairs next to it. Levi looked into the mug, seeing his own swirling, brownish reflection in the muddy looking liquid. It was missing something. Peppermint? No, but it could use a bit of the minty taste peppermint gave. He dug around for a while until he found the red and white striped candy, then just popped the thing, as a whole, into the cup. Never mind crushing the candy, it was alright if it was whole.

Next, Levi decided that it needed marshmallows. It wouldn't be in the bottom cabinets because that was where all of the essentials went, and who the fuck would consider marshmallows an essential? The boy jumped precariously onto the counter, walking down it easily. Opening the cupboard pressed against the wall, Levi immediately found what he'd wanted and grabbled the bag of mini-marshmallows. He began to turn around so he could jump down from the marble surface of the table, but he'd calculated wrong, and instead he toppled right over the ledge.

Instinctively, he'd covered the back of his head and no damage had been down there. But Levi was hurting everywhere else, and his back felt like he was dying. Shaking off the aching pain in his lower back, he stood, and groaning, felt around his back for any obvious damage. When he felt no jagged or misplaced bones, Levi muttered angrily to himself. What a stupid chain of events. Just because he was too short to reach the fucking marshmallows, he was suffering; in physical and mental pain. He was angry at himself for miscalculating his steps, but other than that, it was all his height's fault. Fucking height. Fucking cabinets.

His falling off the counter should have been enough to warn him not to leave the apartment that day, but Levi was stubborn. He wasn't going to listen to anyone's orders, be them from his parents, teachers, or his subconscious.

* * *

><p>It was a cool, drafty day, one of those in which the beautifully colored leaves from the trees just slowly fluttered down, ignoring the rest of the world. A typical Autumn day where Levi lived. The boy made his way down to the apartment complex's garage areas, stuffing his undersized hands into his black coat's pockets. No, no, it wasn't that Levi could drive any kind of car. He was way too young. Besides, his mother had taken the car to her workplace, so it wasn't like there would be a car there anyways.<p>

Punching in the code _(4327) _to open the garage, Levi sighed. It was, so far, an achingly boring day, if you forgot everything about the falling-off-the-counter incident, which Levi fully intended to dismiss wholly from his mind anyways. It had been extremely clumsy on his part, and Levi was certainly not one to be clumsy.

Heading towards the corner of the large, cold room in which they usually kept their vehicles, Levi grabbed his bicycle, neglecting to wear any kind of helmet. He didn't believe it was truly necessary, considering he'd pretty much mastered the art of bicycle riding on his first try, and at an extremely young age. So young he couldn't even remember it now. Mounting the two wheeled bike nimbly, the blacked haired teen cycled out of the garage, stopping only once to press the button that closed the garage.

* * *

><p>Levi was heading to the only place in which he could get a moment's peace – where it was beautifully quiet and blissfully, nobody was there to bother him. The library. He planned on doing a bit of studying for the midterms coming up. Levi was not in any shape or form a great student; he mostly got C's, maybe the occasional B- or D+. He just felt, that with nothing better to do, he may as well spend time doing schoolwork.<p>

Levi pursed his lips. The library was usually filled with people – young brats to annoying 16 to 18 year olds (who thought that they were the rulers of the universe), but Levi suspected the library would be practically deserted of any kinds of annoyances, because those annoyances would all be hanging out at that shitty excuse of a fair.

He closed his eyes briefly, letting the bike swerve slightly, then opened them. The library was in view now, all pretty with its brick walls covered with curling green ivy. Levi stopped himself at the sidewalk before it. The library on Maria road was actually really beautiful. It looked almost like it had just appeared out of a fantasy book, with its cobblestone pathways and luscious green bushes. (Though the green was slowly fading out as winter approached.)

It had slightly crumbling walls, like the edges were being slowly chipped away, bit by bit as the years passed. Levi locked his bicycle into the bike rack and grasped the handle of the door, entering the warm library.

As expected, it was extremely quiet, and recently polished floors gleamed under his shoes. Levi almost felt the need to take his shoes off to preserve such beautiful cleanliness, but didn't. Although he didn't really care what others thought of him, he needed to make sure that his socks didn't get any holes in them – no matter how smooth the floor seemed to be.

Sighing quietly, Levi made his way over to the stairs. They were colored red with a worn down carpet, and the color had a nice, faded look to it. The staircase winded slightly; only just enough so that Levi couldn't see what was at the other end.

Other than the sound of his soft footsteps on the stairs, there was barely any noise in the library, though he could hear the faint clicking of a frantic student typing away at their computer. Levi could almost see their worried faces as they tried desperately to get whatever essay they had to finish done. Or maybe they were just playing online video games. Either way, Levi couldn't imagine himself caring any less than he did now, so he merely ignored the sound and continued climbing the winding staircase.

He reached the top effortlessly and made his way to the Biology books section. His class had been learning about diffusion and osmosis and all that crap that he didn't actually have to know, and Levi never listened. It was time to catch up.

* * *

><p>It was half an hour later, and Levi still hadn't found a good book. Maybe he would just give up for now; read a good fiction novel and then come back. That sounded like a good idea.<p>

So, with this new plan in mind, Levi turned on his heel and walked down the aisles of books to the fiction section.

As he approached the fiction section, Levi was surprised to find a boy, maybe six years old – sitting by himself at the foot of the shelf of books. Finding it not really that necessary to say hello to the boy, Levi instead shuffled around him in search of a good book, looking down first. If there was a book that looked appealing down on the bottom shelf, then he would grab it. He had no intention to have to reach up, maybe even jump, to get a piece of literature. That piece of literature may very well be shitty, too, so Levi wasn't taking any chances.

"Hi."

Levi nearly jumped (but didn't) when the boy suddenly spoke. He turned unimpressed gray eyes down on the boy, only grunting noncommittally in reply. A short stretch of silence, then-

"What's your name?"

Levi only scoffed.

"Answer your own question first, then come back and ask me again."

The boy seemed to puzzle over this and its meaning for a few seconds before turning beautiful turquoise eyes over to Levi, who didn't even look at the boy, opting to continue skimming the shelves for a good looking book.

"What?"

Levi rolled his eyes. Typical brats. Couldn't even tell one piece of shit from the next. He didn't reply, just took a book off the shelf and examined its cover. They tell you not to tell a book by its cover, but Levi really couldn't care less about that statement now, because the book's cover art _and_ title were extremely sappy.

_Romance is in the Air_

_By Stella DeCravolo_

Fucking romantic fiction books. They always had the stupidest titles and the most idiotic cover art. This one depicted the silhouette of a lady with long, wavy hair and a man with an almost comically well-built body embracing in the orange sunset on a beach, with rose petals fluttering across them. It was horrid. Like seriously – what the fuck.

Disgustedly, Levi moved to put the book back, but the brat's tiny hand stopped him.

"Don't judge a book by its cover, Mr. George."

_Who the fuck was George...?_ Levi repeated the sentence aloud, and the brat only gave him a surprised look.

"You said you didn't have a name, so I named you. You look like a George."

"I never said anything even remotely _like _that. I told you to tell me your name, and _then_ ask me what my name was again, idiot. Or if you want to keep that fucking top-secret information from me, I'll just call you Fred."

The brown haired boy looked as if he were pondering this for a moment before nodding, seemingly not liking the name 'Fred'.

"Okay, that makes sense. My name's Eren. What about you?"

"Levi."

"That's a nice name, but can I call you George?"

"Can I call you Fred?"

"...Fine."

* * *

><p>"No, a little bit to the right! No, no, not that right! The other right!"<p>

"The other right...? It's called left."

"Oh."

The brown haired, turquoise eyed brat was on Levi's shoulders.

Eren had wanted a book on the second-to-the-top shelf, but neither of them were tall enough to reach said book. Levi had suggested that he stand on the six year old boy, but Eren had soon declined, saying that Levi would be far too heavy. Levi had twitched, annoyed by the insult, but Eren had frantically backpedaled and said that he was heavy because 'all of those muscles'. Levi had been skeptical, but he didn't actually care that much. He knew he was thin, so the brat was probably just too weak to carry him.

So they'd come to the conclusion that Eren would go on top of Levi's shoulders. They wibbled and wobbled and moved in every which way, until finally Eren got his hands on the book he'd wanted.

"George! I got it!"

"That's real nice, _Fred."_

Eren pouted, then reached up to grab another book when suddenly he pitched backwards. Stupidly, he grabbed the shelf for purchase.

Now, the shelves of books reached halfway to the ceiling in this particular area of the library. That was still a good deal taller than Levi, because the ceiling was high and huge. But the shelves were made of that cheap, skin colored metal material that a lot of libraries used, so it could be moved easily.

The bookshelf swayed precariously for one, frightening moment that Levi would remember for years to come, then teetered backwards onto the two boys.

Immediately after their fall began, Levi brought his hands above his head and grabbed Eren by his waist, pulling him down so the boy was pressed against his chest. This way, Levi would take all of the damage and Eren would be okay (though maybe a few books could cascade down on his face.)

Levi turned in the nick of time, hands sprawled out to protect himself and the boy crying out beneath him. The black haired teen was not invincible, thus he was practically crushed under the weight of the bookshelf. He was struggling to hold it up by himself, and his arms were growing weak. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It had been a stupid idea to come to the library; a stupid idea to hoist Eren onto his shoulders. It had been sort of impulsive really, and Levi couldn't bring himself to say no to Eren when he'd asked him to help him get the book – it was all because of those damn, pleading eyes. It was stupid that he was so stupidly short.

Suddenly, the weight of the bookshelf was miraculously lifted. Two people, one with a red scarf and another with short blond hair on either side were pulling the bookcase up. They had come within moments notice, though Levi had felt like he'd been holding up the world for all eternity.

Eren was not harmed, though he was bawling messily.

"Eren?! Eren! Are you okay?"

A female voice, with a slightly Asian accent.

"Mikasaaaa..."

Eren wailed, literally leaping into the arms of what seemed to be an older sister, though Levi suspected that if the two were actually related, they were either distantly so or one of them had been adopted. Mikasa, as Eren had identified, glared at Levi as if it were all his fault.

"Stay away from Eren. You cause trouble."

She growled quietly, then walked away. The blond haired boy had smiled apologetically at Levi.

"Thanks for helping him out,"

He said, and gave Levi a small smile, turning to catch up with the other two.

Eren called out a,

"Bye, George."

From his position in Mikasa's arms.

"Bye, Fred."


End file.
